Pallet rack construction



K. MCCONNELL Nov. 7, 1967 PALLET RACK CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled Jan. '7, 1966 99090099999 99%ZW9V999D99 O00 o o 000 09009090 MUM,""hl.

u i c 0 l l u l l l z l Nov. 7, 1967 K. MCCONNELL 3,351,212

PALLET RACK CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 7, 1966 PRIOR ART yUnited StatesPatent ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A pallet rack type support structurehaving beams and uprights connected together by means of flanged lugsengaging keyhole openings, The lugs have a plurality of peripheral liatsurfaces extending at dilerent angles to provide for flat contactbetween the lugs and the sides of the keyhole openings in differentoriented positions of the lugs.

This invention relates to the art of pallet racks of a type embodyingvertical upright members detachably secured to horizontal loadsupporting members and particularly applies to an improved connectorbetween the vertical and horizontal members.

In United States Patent 3,070,237, issued Dec. 25, 1962, is shown atypical pallet rack structure of a type in which the features of thisinvention can be particularly embodied. In that type of pallet rack, thevertical upright members are provided with sloped keyhole slots intowhich studs or lugs are connected for the purpose of providingconnections between the vertical and horizontal members. The studs orlugs are of circular cross-section in the regions of their Contact withthe keyhole slots and this substantially provides line contact betweenthe studs or lugs and the portions of the keyhole slots they engage.This line contact provides heavy stress concentration when the palletrack is under load and, in time, the region of contact becomes indentedand this decreases the rigidity of the connections.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide improvedconnections between the vertical and horizontal members by means of animproved design for the studs or lugs used in the connections.

In order to achieve this object, it is another object of this inventionto provide an improved lug or stud which has at least one fiat surfaceon it used to engage a portion of a keyhole in au upright in order toprovide a large area of bearing contact.

It is still another object of the invention to provide such a lug orstud which is reversible when assembled t-o its horizontal member sothat proper orientation of any flat surfaces on it is automatic.

It is another object of the invention to provide such `a stud or lugwhich is readily adapted to right or left hand orientation because it isprovided with a plurality of flat bearing surfaces, any one of which canbe the particular bearing surface for a horizontal member, dependingupon how the lug or stud happens to be assembled to the horizontalmember.

Other objects and advantages of the invention should become apparentupon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a partially cut-away pallet rackembodying -the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows a partially cut-away and sectional elevation view of ahorizontal beam connected to a vertical upright;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a stud or lug embodying the featuresof the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a horizontal sectional view of a vertical member connectedto a horizontal member as viewed approximately along the lines 4-4 ofFIG. 1;

r6 ICC of FIG. and

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged sectional View similar to FIG. 6, except thatit shows the prior art connection.

As viewed in FIG. 1, a typical support structure or pallet rack 1consists of a pair of ladder-shaped upright frames 2 and 3 spaced apartfrom each other and joined together by means of horizontal beams 4, 5, 6and 7. These beams are joined at their ends to the upright frames 2 and3 in a manner hereinafter described. The upright frame 2 is also joinedto the ends of other horizontal beams 8, 9, 10 and 11 which, althoughnot shown, extend to an additional spaced upright frame similar toframes 2 and 3. In this manner the entire pallet rack 1 can be made anylength required. lust as the beams 8, 9, 10 and 11 extend from the frame2, other beams can extend in the opposite direction from the frame 3 sothat the pallet rack can be extended in length in either direction.

Each of the upright frames 2 and 3 consists of a front upright 12 and arear upright 13 joined together by horizontal front to back members 14and 15 and diagonal braces 16 and 17. Naturally the lengths of themembers 14, 15, 16 and 17 can be appropriately cut to space the uprights12 and 13 as far apart as necessary to provide the proper span betweenthe front beams 4 and 5 and the rear beams 6 and 7. Also, the uprights12 and 13 can be made as tall as necessary in order to accommodate therequired vertical spacing of the horizontal beams, as well as to permitpositioning of as many vertically spaced beams as desired. Also,additional members similar to 14, 1S, 16 and 17 can be added to providesufficient rigidity and strength.

With the structure as shown in FIG. 1, the beams 5 and 6 provide a spanacross which pallets or other articles can span so that the beams act astheir support at an upper level. Similarly the beams 4 and 7 provide aspanned support for pallets or other objects at a lower level. A pallet18 is shown supported by the beams 4 and `7 and also a board 19. Ifcontinuous shelving is required so that objects will not fall throughthe spanned opening between the beams, a plurality of boards 19 can bepositioned side by side along the beams to provide a continuousluninterrupted support for various shapes and sizes of objects.

The front to back members 14 and 15 and diagonal braces 16 and 17 arepreferably welded at their ends to the uprights 12 and 13 in order toprovide the completed ladder-shaped upright frames 2 and 3. This enablesthe frames 2 and 3 to be shipped as integral units, thus saving erectiontime and also insuring a rigid structure which might not be obtained ifnuts and bolts or other fastening means are used to secure these memberstogether.

Each of the uprights 12 and 13 is provided with two rows of lirstopenings 20 extending along the entire length of the front walls 21 ofthe uprights. The openings 20 are equally spaced from each other by alixed increment. Each of the uprights 12 and 13 is also provided with arow of equally spaced openings 22 along opposite side walls 23 and 24 ofthe uprights. These side walls 23 and 24 are positioned parallel toeachother and are connected therebetween by the front wall 21 whichforms the upright into a channel shape. The side walls 23 and 24 -areprovided with flanges 25 and 26 which extend toward each other in aplane parallel to the front wall 21 of the upright, The anges 25 and 26,the side walls 23 and 24 and the front wall 21 together provide allanged channel-shaped upright with four corners 27, 28, 29 and 30 whichimpart column strength and rigidity to the uprights.

Even though different number designations have been given to thehorizontal beams, they are all identical in structure and can be usedinterchangeably as front or back beams by merely rotating them 180 endto end in a horizontal plane.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 a horizontal beam 6 consists of an L-shapedtube 31. This tube 31 is welded at each of its ends to one wall 34 of anL-shaped end ange 35. The other wall 36 of the end ange 35 is providedwith two inwardly extending flanged lugs 37 which are in fixed positionson the end ange 35.

Each lug 37 is provided with the improved features of this invention. Asshown in FIG. 3, the lug 37 has a hexagonal central portion 37aconnected between an enlarged diameter flange or hanged portion 40 andsmall diameter portion 37C which is provided with two flats 37d and tworadius portions 37e. The hexagonal portion 37a has six fiat portions 37jwhich are substantially of the same size. As indicated especially inFIGS. 5 and 7, the lug or stud 37 is attached to an L-shaped end flange35 by passing the portion 37C through an opening 35a in the flange 35which opening is of the same size as the cross-sectional shape of theportion 37C. After it is inserted, the free end 37g is peened over andprovided with a ange 37h which retains the stud 37 in the hole 35a. Theshape of the hole 35a corresponding to the cross-section of the lugportion 37C keeps the lug from rotating and insures proper orientationof the lug when it is assembled to the flange 35.

In order to assemble a horizontal beam to an upright 12 or 13, the beamis extended horizontally and its L- shaped end iiange 35 is brought tobear against the front wall 21 and a side wall 23 or 24 of an upright.In order to do this the lugs 37 on the flange are aligned to passthrough the openings 20 in the upright. These openings 20 arekey-shaped, having an enlarged circular portion 20a intersecting anarrow elongated portion 20h which is slightly canted toward the centerof the upright. Having two rows of these holes 20, the effect is thatthese elongated portions 20b are canted or sloped toward each other.Also, ahole 20 in one row is positioned immediately opposite a hole 20in the adjacent row. Since there is equal spacing between all of theholes, each is positioncd with another immediately adjacent to itlaterally.V

The enlarged circular portion 20a is of a diameter larger than thediameter of the anges 40 of the lug 37 so that the lug 37 can freely fitthrough it. The portion 37a of the lug is slightly smaller than thewidth of the elongated portion 20b so that the lug can be dropped downinto the elongated portion 2011 after it has been passed through thecircular portion 20a. Because of the particular dimensions of the endange 35 and the positions of the lugs 37 thereon, as the lugs of theange slide down the incline of the elongated portions 2Gb of the holes20, the wall 34 of the end flange is brought to bear tightly against aside wall 23 or 24 of the upright 12 or 13. These lugs 37, therefore,provide bearing support for the horizontal beam 6 along the plane of thelfront wall 21 of the upright 13.

By drawing the wall 34 of the end flange 35 snugly against the side wall23, this provides a fairly rigid connection between the horizontal beam6 and the upright 13.

In order to further enhance the rigidity of the structure, thehorizontal beams 4, S, 6 and 7 are all provided with sliding bolts 41.The operation of these sliding bolts 41 is described with particularityin U.S. Patent 3,070,237 referred to above.

In prior construction, as shown in FIG. 8, a lug 37 engages a keyholeopening 20' similar in shape to the keyhole opening 20. The lug 37' isprovided with a circular portion 37a which corresponds to the hexagonalportion 37a of the lug 37. It is quite apparent that this circularportion 37a engages the Wall of the elongated hole portion 2Gb alongline contact at region 10-1. With this type of connection, as lug 37' isurged downwardly with the result that the connection between flange 35and upright 13 is tightened, the contact at portion 101 becomes deformedbecause of the heavy stress concentration. This has the effect ofdestroying the dimensional relationship creating the tightening actionas the lug 37 cams along the surface of the hole portion 2Gb` and, intime, looseness at the connections develops which diminishes jointrigidity.

With the improved stud or lug 37, particularly indicated in FIG. 6, oneof the at surfaces 37f on the lug portion 37a provides wide bearing areaof contact along the hole portion Zb. With this dat area of contact,there is little tendency to deform the contacting surfaces because theload stress is spread over the entire area of contact. The result is aminimum change in joint dimensions with a resultant continuance of jointrigidity.

This stud or lug 37 has the further advantage that it can be used forright hand or left hand connections. For example, it is apparent thatthe connection shown in FIG. 6 is one which is used for a connection ofa flange 35 at the left end of a beam, as indicated in FIG. 4 where thekeyhole has a cant or slope in one direction. The holes in the uprightfor connections to the right end of a beam are of the opposite slopeand, when the right end` of a beam is connected to the upright, the flatsurface 371l may be used to provide `the bearing surface of contact. Itshould also be apparent that the stud or lug can be inverted in theopening 35a during its initial assembly to a flange 35 with the resultthat either of the other two at surfaces 37 and 37f" can be useddepending upon whether or not it is a left hand or right handconnection. Actually the upper and lower dat surfaces 37f are not used.They can remain at or be curved, whichever is easier to manufacture. Inany case, it should be apparent that the particular shape of the hole35a allows the stud i or lug 37 to be positioned in one position or inan inverted position and there will always be a flat surface 37jc whichwill properly align with the inner wall of the hole portion 2Gb in orderto provide a large bearing area for a rigid connection.

Although only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it should be evidentthat the invention can be made in manydifferent ways without departing from the true scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims in which I claim:

1. A support structure comprising vertical uprights and horizontalbeams, each of said beams being positioned between two of said verticaluprights spaced from each` other by approximately the length of a beam,the two` vertical uprights being provided with front walls facing in adirection away from the axis of the beam and side walls facing eachother in a direction lof the beam between the uprights, a hanged lug onthe end of said beam, the uprights being provided with keyhole openings`along said front walls for engaging the lug to provide support of thebeam along said front walls, said lug having a first at surface on itsouter periphery and each of said openings being partially bounded by asecond at surface on its inner peripheral wall, said flat surfacesengaging each other when the lug is positioned through one of theopenings, said rst at surface on the lug being one of a plurality offlat surfaces on the outer periphery of the lug extending at differentangles, and said second hat surfaces extending at correspondingdifferent angles on the inner peripheral wall of the keyhole openings topermit at abutment of a first at surface of the lug with a correspondingsecond at surface of the opening when the lug engages the opening.

2. In a support structure of a type having vertical uprights andhorizontal beams, the vertical uprights being provided with walls havingkeyhole openings therein, and the beams having flanged lugs thereon forengaging the right, and each anged lug having a Hat surface on its outerperiphery extending at the same angle when a lug and keyhole opening arein connecting positions relative to each other, the at surface of a lugatly abutting the at edge of a keyhole opening when the keyhole openingand the lug are engaged to form a connection between a beam and anupright, the flat surface on the outer periphery of the lug being one ofa plurality of such flat surfaces on the outer periphery of the lug,each at surface extending at a different angle so that the lug can beoriented to flatly abut dierent keyhole openings having inner peripheralflat edges extending at a corresponding different angle.

3. In a support structure as dened by claim 2 characterized by, saidkeyhole openings being arranged in two parallel vertical rows along eachupright with the keyhole openings of one row canted at a rst angle andthe keyhole openings of the other row canted at a second angle so thatthe respective planes of Contact between abutting at edges and flatsurfaces of the keyhole openings and lugs along the one row of keyholeopenings extend at the rst angle and the planes of Contact betweenabutting flat edges and at surfaces of the keyhole openings of the otherrow extend at the second angle.

References Cited ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner.

2. IN A SUPPORT STRUCTURE OF A TYPE HAVING VERTICAL UPRIGHTS ANDHORIZONTAL BEAMS, THE VERTICAL UPRIGHTS BEING PROVIDED WITH WALLS HAVINGKEYHOLE OPENINGS THEREIN, AND THE BEAMS HAVING FLANGED LUGS THEREON FORENGAGING THE KEYHOLE OPENINGS TO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE BAEMSAND THE UPRIGHTS COMPRISING, EACH KEYHOLE OPENING BEING PARTIALLYBOUNDED ALONG ITS INNER PERIPHERAL WALL BY A FLAT EDGE EXTENDING AT ANANGLE TO ITS RESPECTIVE UPRIGHT, AND EACH FLANGED LUG HAVING A FLATSURFACE ON ITS OUTER PERIPHERY EXTENDING AT THE SAME ANGLE WHEN A LUGAND KEYHOLE OPENING ARE IN CONNECTING POSITIONS RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER,THE FLAT SURFACE OF A LUG FLATLY ABUTTING THE FLAT EDGE OF A KEYHOLEOPENING WHEN THE KEYHOLE OPENING AND THE LUG ARE ENGAGED TO FORM ACONNECTION BETWEEN A BEAM AND AN UPRIGHT, THE FLAT SURFACE ON THE OUTERPERIPHERY OF THE LUG BEING ONE OF A PLURALITY OF SUCH FLAT SURFACE ONTHE OUTER PERIPHERY OF THE LUG, EACH FLAT SURFACE EXTENDING AT ADIFFERENT KEYHOLE OPENINGS HAVING INNER PERIPHFLATLY ABUT DIFFERENTKEYHOLE OPENINGS HAVING INNER PERIPHERAL FLAT EDGES EXTENDING AT ACORRESPONDING DIFFERENT ANGLE.